The banded net-winged beetle, Calopteron discrepans (Newman), is a colorful black and orange net-winged beetle commonly found resting on vegetation in moist woods throughout much of the eastern United States.

Adults: The adults range in length from approximately 10 to 15 mm. Males are smaller than females. The elytra have the elevated lengthwise ridges and cross ridges characteristic of most lycids and are orange with a median and a terminal black band.

The banding patterns of Calopteron discrepans and the closely-related Calopteron reticulatum (Fabricius) are very similar in appearance. In Calopteron discrepans, the sutural extension of the median black band is expanded basally and is widest at the scutellum. Also, the metasternum and second antennal joint are totally black in Calopteron discrepans whereas the metasternum of Calopteron reticulatum is more or less rufous antero-medially, and the second antennal segment is fulvous or brown (Green 1952, Dillon and Dillon 1961).

A third sympatric species, Calopteron terminale (Say) usually lacks the median black band on the elytra, and the elytra when viewed from the side are wavy with a depression anterior to the apical band. If a median band is present in Calopteron terminale, it is not produced along the suture toward the bases of the elytra. Because of their similarity in appearance and variability of the banding patterns, the Calopteron species have often been misidentified.

Nothing is known of the egg stage and oviposition site of Calopteron species. Calopteron larvae are reported to live in rotten logs, under loose bark or, less commonly, in soil or leaf litter. Lycid larvae are reported to be predacious by some authors (Miller 1988, Triplehorn and Johnson 2005) whereas other authors (Lawrence 1991, Marshall 2006, McCabe and Johnson 1979, Withycombe 1926) report that they feed on myxomycetes, fungi, or fermenting plant juices.

The colorful adults of Calopteron reticulatum have been shown to contain pyrazines (that likely impart the repugnant scent of the beetles) and lycidic acid and other fatty acids that may render them distasteful to predators (Eisner et al. 2005), and other species of Calopteron are also likely distasteful. The integument of Calopteron larvae also displays bright, contrasting coloration, and the larvae are likely distasteful. Pupation occurs within the last instar larval exoskeleton (Young and Fischer 1972). The exoskeletons which retain the bright larval coloration probably provide not only shelter but also aposematic (warning coloration) benefit to the pupae. Aggregation of aposematic insects is generally believed to be adaptive as a defensive mechanism against predators (Riipi et al. 2001, Vulinec 1990), and that is the presumed benefit of the pre-pupation aggregation behavior of Calopteron.

Vulinec K. 1990. Collective security: aggregation by insects as a defense, pp. 251-288. In Evans DL, Schmidt JO. [editors] Insect Defenses: Adaptive Mechanisms and Strategies of Prey and Predators. State University of New York Press. Albany, New York. 482 pp.